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BendDesk

I think that everyone that will read this article will be either sitting on their desk reading it on their desktop computer, or in some better position with their laptop. Anyway the screen you are using is a vertical screen and the rest of the necessary control inputs are on a horizontal plain. Well some one thought of making the whole desk a multitouch screen that will incorporate everything in one desk.

This project was made by Aachen University and their Media Computing Group, and the final design is this workstation. Its name BendDesk derived because of the fact that its display is curved in the middle. The screen is a combination of two screens connected by the curvature with total dimensions of 104X104 cm or 40.9×40.9 inches. It is an acrylic surface on top of the screens. The BendDesk is made It uses cameras and infrared emitters to track the movement and also 312 LED’s that will project the infrared light on to the surface. The screens are beamed through two projectors that are inside the frame. The overall quality is astonishing.

All of this is packed in a full size piano shape desk that is comfortable to use while sitting as if it is a normal desk. The transaction between the horizontal and the vertical screen is seamless. To achieve this there are three cameras that are recording every touch with 60 fps with a resolution of 640×480 pixels. There are special algorithms that translate the result of the touch registered on the screen.

The developers made also a lot of compatible software that can use this method of work. There were a lot of test subjects that said that this kind of work is much more soothing that when sitting in a cubicle on a regular desk.